Collapsible boat anchor

ABSTRACT

This anchor includes a hollow spring-loaded shank having an adjustably connected line attachment bolt at one end and a pair of collapsible anchor flukes pivotally connected at the other end. The spring-loading mechanism includes an interior compression spring engaging a plunger at the anchor end of the shank. The anchor flukes are in cam engagement with the plunger, and include a common pivot pin about which the anchor flukes are rotated from an open to a collapsed position under the application of a predetermined load.

United States Patent Farnsley I 1 3,656,4 1 1 Apr, 13, 11972 [54] COLLAPSIBLE BOAT ANCHOR [72] Inventor: Robert Lorraine Farnsley, New Albany,

Ind.

{73] Assignee: Aaron 1). Sallee, Seymour, Ind. [22] F iled: Sept. 9, 1969 [21] Appl, No.: 856,936

[52] U.S.Cl. ..114/208A [51] Int. Cl ..B63b 21/44 [58] Field of Search ..114/208 A, 208 R, 206 R, 206 A, 114/207, 209

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,751 8/1935 Buch et a1 ..1l4/208 2,985,132 5/1961 Detrick ..114/208 1,782,449 11/1930 Siebert ..1 14/208 A X 2,703,544 3/1955 Ewing et al.. ....1 14/208 R X 3,071,096 l/1963 Meno ..1 14/208 R Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assislanl Examiner-F. K. Yee Attorney--Cohn and Powell [57] ABSTRACT This anchor includes a hollow spring-loaded shank having an adjustably connected line attachment bolt at one end and a pair of collapsible anchor flukes pivotally connected at the other end. The spring-loading mechanism includes an interior compression spring engaging a plunger at the anchor end of the shank. The anchor flukes are in cam engagement with the plunger, and include a common pivot pin about which the anchor flukes are rotated from an open to a collapsed position under the application of a predetermined load.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 COLLAPSIBLE BOAT ANCHOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to boat anchors, and in particular to a boat anchor having collapsible flukes which operate to release the anchor under a predetermined load.

Collapsible anchors in themselves are not new and several exist in the prior art. Basically, these may be divided into two types, namely, anchors which are selftripping, in that they operate against a load applied to spring-loaded flukes, or trigger-tripping in which the flukes are held in place by a wedge or similar means and a secondary line is operated to pull the wedge.

Neither of these two basic types currently available has met with acceptance. The reasons for this appear to be that they are either too expensive or the operating mechanism has proved unsatisfactory. Some evidence of general dissatisfaction is indicated by the number of small boats which still employ heavy and unwieldy concrete blocks for anchorage purposes.

The prior art indicates that boat anchors of the self-tripping, spring-loaded variety invariably have open mechanism, which is to say, the moving parts are exposed. This renders the parts, particularly the spring, vulnerable to' grit and small stones which tend to lodge therein. Further, the parts are more susceptible to corrosive action which is particularly serious in brackish water. The additional parts required in the triggertripping variety has undoubtedly rendered this type expensive.

In general, the prior anchorage devices utilize flukes which are individually pinned to a shank member. This arrangement not only tends to produce eccentric loads capable of binding the moving parts, but also limits the folding capability of the flukes. Further, because three or four individually mounted flukes are usually utilized, the use of a single pin to accomplish this multiple mounting is precluded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This boat anchor is of the self-tripping variety. It utilizes a tubular member for the shank, and the spring-loading mechanism is thereby completely enclosed and invulnerable to small stones and other obstacles which could be otherwise lodged in the spring and thereby render the anchor ineffective.

Two flukes are utilized which are connected to the shank by means of a common pivot, but may be tripped independently. The pin is located at the axis of the shank, and eccentric forces acting on the moving parts are thereby minimized. Further, in the collapsed position, the fluke arms are capable of being folded together in overlapping relation, axially aligned with the shank. The collapsed anchor achieves a maximum of streamlining because of this folding action. In addition, the use of one pin permits disassembly of the moving parts for cleaning, repair and storage by merely removing this single pin.

The anchorage fins in the operative position are convergently inclined relative to the pull such that they tend to compress anchorage material when the anchor is dragged.

The use of an eye bolt for the line attachment permits the spring to be pre-compressed, and the load at which the flukes will trip is thereby adjustable. Further, the device can be transformed into a solid anchor by tightening the bolt against the spring-loading mechanism to its fullest extent.

The boat anchor includes an elongate shank member having line attachment means at one end, and a pair of collapsible fluke members at the other end. The elongate shank member is hollow, and resilient means is disposed interiorly thereof between a movable plunger and the end of the shank. The fluke members are pivotally attached to the shank member by means of a common pivot pin which permits swingable and independent movement of each fluke member from an open to a collapsed position. Cam means at the pivot end of each fluke member engage the plunger member to urge the plunger.

against the resilient means in response to load exerted on the fluke members as the fluke members tend to move to a collapsed position.

The fluke members are disposed in side-by-side relation, and at its anchor end, each fluke member includes blade means. The blade means of each fluke member is reversely notched relative to that of the associated fluke member inthe assembled condition to accommodate the blade means of the associated fluke member in the collapsed position. In the collapsed position, the fluke members are substantially aligned with each other and with the shank member.

The cam means on each fluke member include angularly related flats engaging the plunger member. One of the flats holds the fluke member in an open position and the other of the flats holds the fluke member in a collapsed position. The line attachment means includes a bolt member threadedly received within the hollow shank member, and adjustable relative to the hollow shank member receiving the resilient means to induce compressible force in the resilient means and thereby modify the collapsed load.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the device partly in cross section in the open position. The collapsed position is shown in phantom outline;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view, and

FIG. 3 is a plan view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:

Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing, and first to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the boat anchor includes an elongate shank member, generally shown by numeral 10. A line attachment means is provided at one end of the shank member 10 by an eye bolt 11 and two anchor fluke members 12 and 13 are pivotally attached to the other end.

The shank member 10 includes a hollow tubular member14 having an end cap 15 at the upper end which is provided with a threaded aperture 16 receiving the threaded eye bolt 11. At its lower end, the shank member 10 includes opposed openended slots 17 and 18 which admit the fluke members 12 and 13.

The fluke members 12 and 13 are substantially idencally formed and in the preferred embodiment, each may be substituted for the other. For thisreason, identical parts are indicated by corresponding numerals. Each of the fluke members 12 and 13 includes a plate portion 20 at the pivot end. These plate portions 20 are disposed in side-by-side relation and overlap so that each extends beyond both sides of the tubular member 14. It will be understood that the opposed slots 17 and 18 are sufficiently wide to accommodate the combined thicknesses of the plate portions 20 to permit the plate portions 20 to pivot freely, yet without permitting any substantial lateral play of the plate portions 20 within the slots 17 and 18.

The anchor flukes 12 and 13 each include transverse plates 21 at the anchor end, constituting blade means welded or otherwise attached to the plates 20. Each plate 20 terminates in a peg 19 which interfits a compatible notch in the associated transverse plate 21 whereby to facilitate the alignment and attachment of parts.

In the preferred embodiment, the transverse plates 21 have a substantially V-shaped configuration and each includes oppositely extending blades 22 and 23. The outstanding blade 23 is notched to create a pocket 24, and it will be observed that the pockets 24 have a configuration so that each accommodates the blade 22 of the associated anchor fluke. Accordingly, as indicated in FIG. 1 in phantom outline, when the fluke members 12 and 13 are in the collapsed position, the opposed blades of associated fluke members do not interfere with each other and the fluke members 12 and 13 may be substantially folded together into axial with the shank member 10 with only a portion of the blades projecting outwardly.

The plate portions 20 of the anchor fluke members 12 and 13 are pivotally attached to the tubular member 14 by means of a cotter pin 26. The pin 26 constitutes a common pivot member pivotally mounting each of the fluke members to the shank member for swingable, independent movement of either fluke member from an open to a collapsed position. The cotter pin 26 extends between the opposed sidewalls 30 and 31 and through each plate portion 20 at the pivot end of the anchor fluke members 12 and 13 and is provided with a split pin 27 to secure the cotter pin 26 in position.

The plate portions 20 of each anchor fluke member 12 and 13 include parallel sides 32 and 33 respectively and right angularly disposed ends 34. The upper side 32 and end 34 of each fluke member are joined by an intermediate curved portion 35 at the corner and the upper side, end and comer constitute cam means which engage a plunger member or pressure head means 40 which is slidably received within the tubular member 14.

The plunger member or pressure head means 40 constitutes a pressure head means and spaced from the plunger member or pressure head means 40 is an abutment member 41. Member 41 constitutes an abutment means and is also slidably received within the tubular member 14 and is engaged by the eye bolt 11 at its upper face. These members 40 and 41 are preferably solid cylindrical pieces, and extending between them and engaging their upper and lower faces respectively is a compression spring 42 which constitutes a resilient means.

Through the medium of the plunger member or pressure head means 40, the spring 42 exerts a pressure on the cam flats provided by the end portions of the upper sides 32 of the anchor fluke members 12 and 13, holding the fluke members in an anchored operative position in which load exerted on the fluke member from relatively fixed obstacles encountered by the anchor is transferred to the shank 10. This anchorage state will continue until sufficient pressure is applied to a fluke member by an operator pulling on the line to urge the plunger member or pressure head means 40 upwardly against the spring 42 by cam action from the associated corner flat 35. After the fluke member has rotated to approximately 45, pressure from the spring 42 assists in snapping the fluke member into its ultimate collapsed position in which it is substantially aligned with the shank member 10 in the collapsed condition, the end flat 34 engages the plunger member or pressure head means 40.

it is thought that the structural features and functional advantages of this boat anchor have become fully apparent from the foregoing description of parts, but for completeness of disclosure, the operation will be briefly summarized.

By screwing the eye bolt 11 to a greater or lesser extent within the tubular body 14 and against the abutment member 41, the force under which either or both of the anchor fluke members 12 and 13 will move from an open to a collapsed position may be adjusted. Should it be desired, the anchor can be made virtually solid by screwing the eye bolt 11 to its fullest extent against the spring 42.

Because of the provision of only two fluke members 12 and 13, a single pin 26 may be utilized. However, the superior grappling effect of four flukes is realized by the provision of the V-shaped plates 21 at the end of each fluke member. The upwardly inclined nature of these plates 21 not only provides the anchor with a hooking action, but also as the anchor is dragged across the bed, the material on the bed is compressed together by a wedge-like action, thereby increasing the anchorage potential.

The configuration of the blades 23, each of which includes a reversely formed pocket 24 accommodating the blade 22 of the other fluke member, permits the plate portions 20 to be completely overlapped in the collapsed position.

The plate portions 20 extend across the tubular member 14 through each of the slots 17 and 18. Each plate portion 20 is, for this reason, securely held under the action of lateral loads tending to bend the plates about their minor bending axis by the sides of the slots 17 and 18, and load is thereby not applied to the pin 26.

The cam flats provided by the upper edges 32 and the ends 34 are preferably spaced tangentially from the pivot center a similar amount. Because of this arrangement, the force required to collapse one of the fluke members will be substantially the same as that required to return it to the open position.

The disassembly of the boat anchor is achieved by simply removing the cotter pin 26. When this is done, the fluke members 12 and 13 may be pulled free, and the plunger member or pressure head means 40, the spring 42 and abutment piece 41 may then be removed from the hollow shank member 10. If desired, the eyebolt 11 may be removed by simply unscrewing it, and the disassembly operation is then complete.

I claim as my invention:

1. A collapsible boat anchor, comprising:

a. an elongate shank member including line attachment means at one end,

b. a pressure head means movably mounted in slidable relation to the shank member,

c. resilient means compressible between the pressure head means and the shank member,

d. a pair of fluke members, each including a pivot end and an anchor end,

e. a common pivot member pivotally mounting each of the fluke members to the shank member at the outer end of the shank member at a common pivot axis for swingable, independent movement of at least one of the fluke members from an open to a rearwardly disposed closed collapsed position,

f. cam means at the pivot end of each fluke member engageable with the pressure head means to urge the pressure head means against the resilient means in response to pressure exerted on the fluke member,

g. each fluke member including a plate portion at the pivot end disposed in side-by-side, overlapping relation with the plate portion at the pivot end of the other fluke member,

h. each fluke member including blade means at the anchor end transversely disposed relative to its plate portion, and

i. the blade means having a substantially V-shaped configuration providing a pair of outwardly extending blades, each of the blades including a reversely notched portion accommodating the other blade of the other fluke member in the closed collapsed position.

2. A collapsible boat anchor, comprising:

a. an elongate hollow shank member including line attachment means at one end,

b. plunger means movably mounted within the hollow shank member in slidable relation thereto,

c. resilient means compressible between the plunger member and the shank member,

d. a pair of fluke members each including a pivot end and an anchor end,

e. pivot means pivotally mounting each of the fluke members to the shank member at the other end of the shank member for swingable movement of at least one of the fluke members from an open to a closed collapsed rearward position,

f. cam means at the pivot end of each fluke member engageable with the plunger means to urge the plunger means toward the resilient means in response to pressure exerted on the fluke member, the cam means of each fluke member including first and second angularly related flats, one of the flats engaging the plunger means in the open position of the fluke member and the other of the flats engaging the plunger means in the collapsed position of the fluke member, spring pressure urging the fluke member into said collapsed position,

g. the line attachment means including a bolt member threadedly received within the shank member,

h. an abutment means disposed at the received end of the bolt member,

i. the resilient means including a compression spring extending between the abutment means and the plunger means,

j. adjustment of the bolt member compressing the spring between the abutment means and the plunger means and selectively modifying the collapse load,

k. the fluke members being disposed in side-by-side relaand substantially aligned with the shank member in the tion, closed collapsed position without interference from the 1. each fluke member including a plate portion at the pivot blade means, and

d d bl d means at h anchor d, 11. the angularly related flats being substantially perpendicum. the blade means of associated fluke members being 5 lady related h y sprmg P P the assoclaled reversely notched in the assembled condition so that the fluke member the collapsed posltlonplate portions may be disposed in overlapping relation 

1. A collapsible boat anchor, comprising: a. an elongate shank member including line attachment means at one end, b. a pressure head means movably mounted in slidable relation to the shank member, c. resilient means compressible between the pressure head means and the shank member, d. a pair of fluke members, each including a pivot end and an anchor end, e. a common pivot member pivotally mounting each of the fluke members to the shank member at the outer end of the shank member at a common pivot axis for swingable, independent movement of at least one of the fluke members from an open to a rearwardly disposed closed collapsed position, f. cam means at the pivot end of each fluke member engageable with the pressure head means to urge the pressure head means against the resilient means in response to pressure exerted on the fluke member, g. each fluke member including a plate portion at the pivot end disposed in side-by-side, overlapping relation with the plate portion at the pivot end of the other fluke member, h. each fluke member including blade means at the anchor end transversely disposed relative to its plate portion, and i. the blade means having a substantially V-shaped configuration providing a pair of outwardly extending blades, each of the blades including a reversely notched portion accommodating the other blade of the other fluke member in the closed collapsed position.
 2. A collapsible boat anchor, comprising: a. an elongate hollow shank member including line attachment means at one end, b. plunger means movably mounted within the hollow shank member in slidable relation thereto, c. resilient means compressible between the plunger member and the shank member, d. a pair of fluke members each including a pivot end and an anchor end, e. pivot means pivotally mounting each of the fluke members to the shank member at the other end of the shank member for swingable movement of at least one of the fluke members from an open to a closed collapsed rearward position, f. cam means at the pivot end of each fluke member engageable with the plunger means to urge the plunger means toward the resilient means in respOnse to pressure exerted on the fluke member, the cam means of each fluke member including first and second angularly related flats, one of the flats engaging the plunger means in the open position of the fluke member and the other of the flats engaging the plunger means in the collapsed position of the fluke member, spring pressure urging the fluke member into said collapsed position, g. the line attachment means including a bolt member threadedly received within the shank member, h. an abutment means disposed at the received end of the bolt member, i. the resilient means including a compression spring extending between the abutment means and the plunger means, j. adjustment of the bolt member compressing the spring between the abutment means and the plunger means and selectively modifying the collapse load, k. the fluke members being disposed in side-by-side relation, l. each fluke member including a plate portion at the pivot end and blade means at the anchor end, m. the blade means of associated fluke members being reversely notched in the assembled condition so that the plate portions may be disposed in overlapping relation and substantially aligned with the shank member in the closed collapsed position without interference from the blade means, and n. the angularly related flats being substantially perpendicularly related whereby spring pressure snaps the associated fluke member into the collapsed position. 